The team, who help to attract and secure major national and international conferences and events for the region, beat off strong competition from other top bureaux including Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Manchester. Gold went to Glasgow, who have held the position for the past eleven years, with London winning silver.
Paul Szomoru, head of business tourism at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “It is a huge honour to receive this prestigious award. These are the Oscars of the industry, and are voted for by our customers based on the service that they have received from us over the past year.
“This award is very much for the team and I am extremely proud to see them and their hard work recognised on a national level. Despite being a small team, we always go above and beyond for our clients, customers and partners, to give every delegate who visits NewcastleGateshead a fantastic experience and inspire them to return again and again.
“We would like to congratulate Glasgow for winning Gold for the eleventh year, and for setting such consistently high standards. We are proud to be recognised alongside such highly respected bureaux and would all like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us.”
Organised by Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Magazine, the awards event took place at Battersea Evolution in London, bringing together over 1200 international industry leaders from the conference sector to reward service and product excellence. There were 19 awards in total, voted for by the readers of M&IT Magazine.